Late pay by big companies is taking its toll on smaller firms

Chris Papadopoullos was City A.M.'s economics reporter until February 2016.

Follow Chris

Chris Papadopoullos

LATE payments are placing a strain on the finances of small and medium-sized companies, new survey data shows today.

Of the 925 firms surveyed, 66 per cent said they had experienced issues with late payments of invoices, according to data released by the Institute of Directors (IoD).

Excessively bureaucratic payments systems were cited as the main reason for late payment by 47 per cent of firms. Delayed pay is affecting how SMEs are run, with half of them saying it had forced them to change business decisions.

“If large businesses do not rethink their approach, the pressure for further political intervention, enforcing maximum payment terms or fines for late payment, will only increase,” said James Sproule, chief economist at the IoD.